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Ph.D. Electrical Eng.
Ph.D. Program in Electrical Engineering-Electro-Optics Option
The Ph.D. degree is primarily intended for students with a master's degree in electrical engineering or closely related fields who wish to pursue a career in research or academia. Specializations include guided-wave optics, ultrafast photonics, diffractive optics, photonic signal processing, opto-electronics, optics, optical imaging, IR technology, X-ray optics, laser engineering, thin film optics, remote sensing.
Admission Students must satisfy university requirements and have completed a master's degree in electrical engineering or closely related fields. Admission requirements include a minimum grade point average of 3.5 (A=4.0) in the MS program and a minimum combined score of 1100 in the quantitative and verbal portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). For students with a degree from international institutions, a minimum score of 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required. Students are admitted initially to a pre-Ph.D. status and are required to pass a Qualifying Examination to be advanced to a degree seeking status. The student must form a dissertation committee and submit an approved program of study upon passing the Qualifying Examination.
Articulation Undergraduate articulation courses may be required for students with MS degrees in fields other than electrical engineering. The student's advisory committee will determine the articulation courses on a case by case basis.
Degree Requirement The Ph.D. program requires a minimum of 24 of dissertation hours and 57 semester hours of approved graduate course work in electrical engineering, and science or mathematics electives, and independent studies. Graduate course work includes 5000 of higher level courses with a maximum of 12 hours of independent studies. Up to 6 hours of 4000 level may be included if transferred from a master's program. At least 6 semester hours must be taken outside the College of Engineering. A program of study must be developed with an advisory committee at the beginning of the Ph.D. Program. The degree must be completed within seven years from the date of admission to the doctoral program.
Transfer Credits Up to 36 semester credit hours, with grade "B" or better, may be transferred from a master's degree toward these the Ph.D. Transfer of credit is considered when the program of study is submitted for approval.
Examinations In addition to the Qualifying Examination discussed above, the student must pass a Candidacy Examination and a Dissertation Defense Examination. The Candidacy Examination is normally taken near the end of the course work and consists of a written and oral presentation of a research proposal. The Dissertation Defense Examination is an oral examination taken in defense of the written dissertation.
For complete details see graduate catalog entry for the Electrical Engineering Ph.D. Program.
